So the Drama, Global Dispatches 5 - A Matter of Time
by Jasoomian-Panthan
Summary: Fifth story in my So the Drama, Global Dispatches series. When Sherman finds out Mr. Peabody played a key role in stopping the Diablo's in London but doesn't feel like talking about it, he and Penny travel back to that day to witness the events for themselves. - Rated T to be safe.


_November 03, 2014_

Monday, which meant it was time for school again. And for a certain red haired bespectacled boy named Sherman, school meant no more trips in the wonderful time machine called the WABAC until next weekend. A day ago, the boy, his adoptive father Mr. Peabody, and his girlfriend Penny had visited a village in ancient Gaul so Sherman and Penny could learn firsthand about the Roman conquests and expansion of their empire, or rather their failure to do so in this particular part of Gaul. One of the villagers, a very fat and extremely strong guy, had even given the tree visitors a menhir as a souvenir, which Sherman now kept in his room among the gifts and items he had received from friends he made in other times in history.

But Sherman didn't really mind there would be no time travels for a while. He loved school, especially history class, where he was a straight A student because of his many time travels. Even Penny, who usually was the smartest kid in class, was only second best to him in history class; a fact that at the start of the school year had sparked a quite violent argument between the two. But that seemed a long time ago now. Even though Penny still considered Sherman a showoff, she and Sherman were otherwise on good terms with each other now, to the point that she even accompanied Sherman and Mr. Peabody on their time travel adventures.

Today, the teacher decided it was time for some recent history.

"Good morning class. Now, before we start, can anyone tell me what this is?"

Everyone stared at the thing in the teachers' hand. It looked like a toy, shaped like a small, grinning devil with clamps for hands and a huge D on its front head.

"Ehm, a toy?" a boy behind Sherman asked. Sherman however already knew what the teacher was steering at, but didn't answer yet.

The teacher continued. "Yes, it is a harmless toy now. But on april 28 or 29 2006, depending on what part of the world you lived, they were anything but harmless. You will not remember of course, since most of you are seven years old or eight at most. But your parents definitely will, and if you have an older sibling, he or she will recall it too".

She continued to tell the class about how over 8 years ago, an evil scientist named Dr. Drakken had almost succeeded in conquering the world with his army of robots, disguised as harmless kids toys and distributed all over the world through a new kids meal at the fast food restaurant Bueno Nacho.

"…It was only due to the interference of the hero Kim Possible that the invasion was stopped in time, and Dr. Drakken failed. Of course, she is not the only one who deserves the credit."

At this point she began to show the class some slides of various people fighting against the Diablo's.

"In some parts of the world other heroes successfully managed to fight back against the invasion, like in New Jersey, Australia, Hong Kong, Hawaii, and London. In fact…" she looked in Sherman's direction "the attack in the latter was repelled by none other than the adoptive father of a boy here in this class room".

Now everybody in the class turned around to look at Sherman, who was starting to feel quite uncomfortable under all this sudden attention. Some of them were gasping in surprise, including Penny. Others looked annoyed or jealous at him, clearly because of the fact that Sherman's already famous father had done even more remarkable things than they already knew. Sherman however had no idea what to say. He was well aware of the Diablo invasion, although he had not seen it himself, and that Mr. Peabody had witnessed it, but this was one thing Mr. Peabody had never told him about. Fortunately for him, the teacher seemed to realize Sherman didn't like the attention so she quickly continued her class.

"There was also a successful counter attack in the city of Danville, although nobody knows who was behind that. Furthermore…"

But Sherman hardly heard the rest of the teacher's story. During lunch many students asked him questions about how Mr. Peabody had fought back against an army of giant robots, but Sherman was unable to answer any of their questions. He was glad that Penny eventually stepped up for him and told everybody to leave him alone.

* * *

The rest of the day went by without further incidents. After school, Mr. Peabody was waiting outside on his red scooter to pick up Sherman, as usual.

"So, how was school?" Peabody asked. His standard first question to Sherman while they were on their way home.

"Well…." Sherman started. "We had history class today and…"

Seeing how nervous Sherman was made Peabody nervous himself. "You didn't get into a fight again because of being the best student in history class did you?" he asked concerned. Sherman shook his head. "No Mr. Peabody. It's just…. Today's class was about the Diablo invasion of 2006, and according to our teacher…. You helped to stop it in London".

Peabody didn't answer right away. He hated to be reminded of that particular day of his life. It wasn't until they pulled up at the apartment building containing their pent house that he spoke up. "Yes Sherman. I guess I did. It was only a small victory of course. I only saved 1 city. That girl, Kim Possible, saved the entire world."

To Sherman however that didn't matter. What mattered was his dad was a hero. "That is still more than most other people did Mr. Peabody. But why didn't you tell me before?" Sherman asked while he and Mr. Peabody stepped into the elevator. "Is it because it has to do with the OWCA again?"

Peabody laughed a little. "No Sherman. I had already resigned from the OWCA back then. It is just that I have some very bad memories about that day, so I don't really like to talk about it. Now go to your room and finish your homework. We have dinner at six".

Sherman did as told, but Peabody knew his boy better than this. Now that Sherman had found out about Peabody's involvement in the saving of London, he wouldn't stop until Peabody told him the whole story. So, while he was putting the plates on the table, he came to the conclusion it might be better to tell Sherman now. Not everything of course, but enough to satisfy his son's curiosity for the moment.

And so, after dinner, Peabody invented Sherman to sit down on the couch with him for a while. Peabody first walked over to one of the book shelves, took a photo album from it, and then sat down next to Sherman. He opened the album to show Sherman a picture of himself, standing in front of the London ExCel International Exhibition Centre.

"You see Sherman. I was in London that day for a science convention about the growing energy crisis in the world. I myself had recently invented the Lightning Battery, the very same invention that still powers most of our house and all of my lab today, and was there to demonstrate it to my fellow scientist".

Sherman had often been told about this invention by Mr. Peabody. Like many scientists, Peabody had often considered the possibilities to harvest the power of lightning to solve the growing need for electricity in the world. Something scientists had been trying to do since the late 1980's, but without success since nobody could find a technology capable of harvesting lightning energy, which would need to be able to rapidly capture the high power involved in a lightning bolt. Nobody except Mr. Peabody. In 2006 he had successfully demonstrated a device that could indeed capture and store lightning for later use, and many government buildings now used this.

Peabody continued his story. "It was on April 29, at 7 in the morning, that Dr. Drakken activated his army and tried to take over the world. Around the same time, London was hit by a massive thunderstorm. A rather unusual thunderstorm I might add. The morning had started bright and sunny, and not a single weather forecast predicted a thunderstorm for that day. It came like a literal bolt from the blue, so to speak. Not necessarily impossible, but still a very rare meteorological phenomenon. And very much welcome to me, because it allowed me to quickly build a weapon, use the Lightning Battery to power it up, and electrocute all Diablo's in the direct area. It must have been quite a shock for Drakken to see his army get defeated so quickly".

For once Sherman got the pun and laughed. Peabody browsed through the pages until he reached what looked like a newspaper clipping from _The Times_ of April 30. It was titled '_Mr. Peabody saves city'_ and was accompanied by a large photograph showing Peabody receiving the keys to the city from the Mayor of London in front of a cheering crowd. Peabody passed the album to Sherman so the boy could take a look at the newspaper clipping himself. Sherman observed the photo closely and noticed the Peabody standing next to the mayor didn't seem very happy. In fact, he looked remorseful.

"Then why do you hate that day Mr. Peabody? I mean, you saved London, and successfully demonstrated your invention. You should be happy" Sherman remarked. Peabody sighed. "Not all that happened that day was good Sherman. But that is something I will tell you some other day".

Without saying more Peabody closed the album and put it back on the shelf. He then left the living room and went to the lab to work on his latest invention. A sign to Sherman that as far as Mr. Peabody was concerned, their conversation about the topic was over and nothing Sherman did would make the dog to tell more.

And yet, Sherman knew there was more to all of this. And what seemed even stranger, he had a feeling there was something odd about the photograph Peabody had shown him. After making sure Mr. Peabody was still safely in his lab, Sherman took the photo album from the shelf again to take another look at the newspaper clipping. But the only odd thing he could find in the photo was a small, black dot in the sky above Mr. Peabody and the Mayor, too vague and small to see what it was. Sherman shrugged his shoulders. "Possibly some dirt on the camera lens" he thought as he put the album back on the shelf.

* * *

The following day, Penny came over to the Peabody household after school, like she did every Tuesday afternoon. While she and Sherman were in Sherman's room, Sherman explained her everything Peabody had told him the day before. Sherman even showed her the newspaper clipping. And like Sherman, she was curious what Peabody was holding back, and she was determined to find out.

"Well, if your dad doesn't want to tell us more, then why don't we go see it for ourselves?" Penny asked. Sherman started. "Penny, he'll never take us back to that day. Not just because he hates it, but also because it would mean breaking the '_you cannot go to a time in which you already exist'_-rule. Any date before august 1996 is off limits to Mr. Peabody".

Penny crossed her arms. "Right, like he has never broken that rule before. Then what about your little trip to Danville of 2007? And besides…" she started to grin. A grin that, to Sherman, mean she was up to something. "…he may not be allowed to go to April 2006, but WE are. The Diablo invasion was roughly a year before we were born, so we don't exist yet in that time"

Sherman's eyes widened. Did Penny seriously suggest what he thought she was suggesting? He took a step back and raised his arms in defense. "No Penny. I'm not going to take the WABAC again without Mr. Peabody's permission, and there is no way I let you talk me into it".

_5 minutes later_

Sherman sighed as he programmed the WABAC for London, April 29, 06:45 AM. 15 minutes before the Diablo invasion was due to start. "How did I let myself get talked into this again?"

Penny, who was sitting in the chair next to him with her backpack on her lap, just grinned. "Very easy Sherman. Like always. Now better hurry up before your dad finds out what we're doing".

Deep down Sherman knew he shouldn't give in to Penny so easily, but she always seemed to know exactly how to trick Sherman into doing what she wanted. "I don't think that will be a problem Penny. He is busy working on a new invention. Some weather machine I believe"

Penny frowned. "Don't those already exist? According to his Wikipedia page, that Dr. Drakken guy, who was behind the Diablo attack, also once used such a machine for one of his evil schemes".

"Yes, but this is a different, more portable version. I don't know the full details. Now, let's go and get this over with" Sherman said. With the coordinates set, Sherman started the WABAC. Instantly, the giant red orb disappeared from the pent house into the time stream.

"You know we cannot interact with the Mr. Peabody of 2006, or else the Mr. Peabody of 2014 will also know we took the WABAC again. In fact, it seems better if we stay cloaked the whole time and only observe the events from within the WABAC" Sherman suggested. And for once, Penny agreed, if only because she knew from yesterday's history class how dangerous the Diablo invasion had been. She took the newspaper clipping, which she had removed from the photo album, out of her pocket and read it again. "So according to this article, your dad used the Big Ben in combination with his invention to destroy the Diablo's".

"He won't be there yet when we arrive. Better start at the London ExCel" Sherman said.

In front of the WABAC the time stream opened up and the WABAC entered the year 2006.

* * *

_April 29, 2006._

For about 10 minutes Sherman navigated the cloaked WABAC over the city of London. It was early in the morning, and the city was only just starting to wake up. Naturally, there were not many children out on the streets yet, and as such Sherman and Penny hardly saw any Little Diablo's.

"There is your dad" Penny said when they reached the London ExCel. Sherman stopped the WABAC and looked down. A van, no doubt containing the Lightning Battery, was parked at the back of the building, and Peabody was standing next to it, talking to somebody still inside the van. Sherman turned on the WABAC's microphones so he and Penny could follow the conversation while staying at a safe distance.

"Well Charlene. Today is the day I guess" the Peabody from 2006 spoke. From inside the van a woman answered. "Don't tell me you're nervous Peabody. After all you have already done in your life, this demonstration of today should go fine".

Peabody chuckled and actually seemed to blush a little. "Don't count yourself out Charlene".

Penny looked at Sherman. "Sherman. Who is 'Charlene'?"

Sherman shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know".

The passenger door of the van opened, and a woman stepped out. Sherman estimated her to be in her early thirties. She had long, brown hair, was wearing glasses and a skirt suit. Sherman had a feeling he had seen this woman before. In some of Peabody's older photo albums, from before Sherman was born. But this was the first time Sherman saw her in real life. The woman briefly kissed Peabody on the head, making the white Beagle blush even more. "It will be okay, like always. You are still the worlds smartest dog".

"If you say so. Well. Better get this thing unloaded" Peabody said. He opened the back of the van while Charlene talked to some men at the door. In the WABAC, Penny kept track of the time on her watch.

"Only 30 seconds now Sherman"

Sherman turned his gaze away from Peabody and Charlene and looked at the sky. A clear blue sky, not a cloud in sight. Just like Peabody had told him.

"10…9…8…7..6..5…4…3…2….Showtime" Penny counted. At that exact moment, the quiet morning was violently disrupted by several loud explosions. In the WABAC, Sherman and Penny could see at least five Diablo's suddenly rise up in the air, using their energy cannons to blow up some nearby buildings. On the ground, Peabody, Charlene and the two men also noticed it.

"Peabody, what was that?" Charlene asked.

"Stay here Charlene. I…" but there was no need for Peabody to go and check it out, since the next moment three Diablo's appeared above the London ExCel, glaring down at the three humans and 1 dog. One aimed his energy cannon at them and fired. Peabody, wasting no time, quickly pushed Charlene out of the way. The two men stopped with unloading the Lightning Battery and fled.

"Charlene, get inside and stay there" Peabody ordered while not taking his gaze away from the robots above him. "I try to distract them".

Sherman and Penny could see Charlene tried to protest, but eventually she did as told. Peabody himself picked up a rock and threw it at the Diablo's to get their attention, then grabbed a screwdriver from the van and ran to the front of the building with the robots close behind him.

"What is he doing? Why doesn't he use his invention like he said he did?" Sherman asked.

"And how is he going to do that? The thunderstorm isn't here yet" Penny pointed out. Indeed, the sky was still free of any clouds. The only think darkening the sky right now were the hundreds of Diablo's flying over London. Sherman had to steer the WABAC even higher to get out of their way, or risk a collision.

"Just look at them. I never knew there were that many" Sherman said in awe, but his amazement soon made place for dismay when he and Penny saw the chaos the Diablo's were causing. Everywhere people came running out of their houses, followed by the still toy sized Diablo's which, once outside, immediately turned giant. Many people tried to seek refuge in the subway stations, but the Diablo's simply tore the streets open to follow them there.

In front of the ExCel, Peabody was still facing off against the Diablo's. They were bigger and stronger than him, but Peabody was smarter. He managed to accurately predict every move of the robots. Right now, two were hovering behind him and one in front.

"What is it going to be, Mr. Demo-bot. I don't have all day" Peabody said in his usual calm manner, not showing any sign of fear. The Diablo, insulted, aimed his energy cannon and fired, but Peabody simply sidestepped and the blast hit the other two Diablo's instead. One was send crashing through the glass pyramid that made up the façade of the ExCel, while the other was send flying up and through the letter C of the name 'ExCel' on top of the building. Before the third Diablo could fire again, Peabody had jumped on top of him, crawled onto the robots back, and used the screwdriver to open the hatch on the robots back.

"Let's see… red…blue…yellow…. AH, Green!". Peabody grabbed the green wire and tore it loose. Immediately, the Diablo reverted back to his small toy form. Peabody picked it up.

"Wait. Aren't you one of those little Diablo toys they distribute at Bueno Nacho these days?" He looked up and only now did he notice the immense amount of Diablo's flying over the city. That was something scary enough to terrify even Mr. Peabody.

"That... many? Are all of those toys like that?"

From inside the WABAC Sherman and Penny cheered for Peabody as he mopped the floor with the first Diablo's.

"There is that woman, Charlene, again" Penny said. Indeed, the brown-haired woman came walking out of the front door, navigating herself a way through the shattered glass, and shouted at Peabody to get his attention. Sherman was about to listen to what she had to say when his eye caught something else…

But it was too late to try and interfere, even if they were allowed to….

"Peabody" Charlene shouted.

"Charlene. It's those Little Diablo's from Bueno Nacho"

"I know. I did some quick research. They are in fact high tech, shape shifting robots, controlled through a command signal. If we can…"

But Charlene never got to finish her advice to Peabody. What happened next came to both Sherman and Penny as an even greater shock then what they had already seen so far. Suddenly, the entire London ExCel International Exhibition Centre exploded as a result of at least 10 Diablo's attacking the building at once. Peabody was standing far away enough, but Charlene was not. The poor woman had just enough time to look over her shoulder and see the entire façade of the building come down towards her, but she didn't even have time to scream. Peabody had to cover his eyes with his paws against the large cloud of dust as the building collapsed. When he could see again, there was only a large pile of broken bricks, glass, steel and other building materials. No sign of Charlene. The Diablo's, content with their work, went on to their next target, but Peabody didn't notice. He just stood there, completely still like a living statue. His mouth and eyes wide open in shock and disbelief. And inside the WABAC, Penny and Sherman observed the whole scene with the exact same feelings as Peabody.

"No" Peabody muttered. Then he screamed the words as he ran to the remains of what was once the ExCel and began to dig through the rubble. "No. Charlene. Answer me". Sherman could see some tears welling up in the dog's eyes. Was this what Peabody had been so reluctant to tell about?

"Mr. Peabody" Sherman said silently.

In the sky, two of the Diablo's suddenly turned around, evidently having decided they weren't done yet at the site of the London ExCel. Sherman saw them flying straight for Mr. Peabody. That snapped the boy out of his trance and he quickly grabbed the steering wheel of the WABAC.

"Sherman, what are you doing?" Penny asked.

"Helping. Peabody evidently doesn't see them. I won't stand back and do nothing again" Sherman said, sounding more determined than ever. The boy was right. Peabody was so busy trying to free Charlene and any others trapped under the rubble that he failed to notice the two Diablo's closing in on him. Without really thinking about it, Sherman hit the gas and the WABAC shot forward like a rocket. It collided with the Diablo's and knocked both of them away from Peabody and onto the street. Peabody, startled by the loud noise, looked over his shoulder to see what had happened, but saw nothing. The WABAC was still cloaked.

"Sherman. We are not allowed to interfere in the past" Penny shouted.

"Hey, if I didn't they would have killed Mr. Peabody" Sherman protested, annoyed that Penny, of all people, tried to lecture him about the rules of time travel. She was usually the first to break them.

The Diablo's Sherman had knocked aside quickly got back to their feet, and unbeknown to Penny and Sherman activated their infrared vision. As the two robots scouted the sky for their mysterious, invisible attacker, Penny suddenly got the terrible feeling they were watching her. A feeling that only became stronger when both Diablo's fixed their gaze in their direction.

"Ehm Sherman. I think they can see us" Penny said while tapping Sherman's shoulder and pointing through the window at the two Diablo's. Sherman finally found the strength to tear his gaze away from the gruesome scene below and see the Diablo's for himself. And not a moment too soon, because at the same time both Diablo's proved Penny right by firing their energy cannons at the still invisible WABAC.

"Yikes!"Sherman yanked the wheel and the WABAC made a sharp turn to the right, dodging the blasts. Sherman was safely buckled in his seat, but Penny was thrown out of her chair and against the wall of the WABAC. Her backpack fell from her lap and opened, spilling its contents all over the floor.

"Hold tight!" Sherman shouted as the WABAC shot forward in an attempt to shake off the Diablo's. There were three of them tailing the WABAC now. In the streets below, two other Diablo's attacked Mr. Peabody, who was still trying to free Charlene from under the rubble, now backed up by some rescue workers who had just arrived on the scene. From the corner of his eye Sherman saw how Peabody lured the Diablo's away from the London ExCel so rescue workers could continue to do their work.

"And still no signs of a thunderstorm" Sherman thought while he kept dodging the blasts of the Diablo's. The sky was as clear as it had been since Sherman and Penny arrived.

Penny meanwhile began to gather her belongings and put them back in the backpack. Besides stuff needed for school, the backpack also contained a lot of items Penny thought could be useful during a time travel adventure, so she always kept them with her.

"Almost. Now where is…. Ah, there!". The object Penny was referring to was her magnification glass, which had slipped underneath her chair and was now lying on top of the newspaper clipping Sherman had taken from the photo album. When Penny grabbed both items at once, she noticed something both she and Sherman had missed before. She gasped.

"S…s… Sherman!".

Sherman made the WABAC steer sharp to the left, causing two Diablo's to crash into each other. "What is it Penny. I'm rather busy here".

But when Penny had made up her mind about something, nothing would make her change it. She grabbed Sherman's chair and turned it so the boy was facing her. "You have to see this for yourself. Look!". She held the newspaper clipping, along with the magnification glass, in front of him, and just like Penny, Sherman gasped at what he saw. There, above Peabody, the Mayor and the cheering crowd, was that strange small dot Sherman had thought to be dirt on the camera lens. But now, under the magnification glass, it became large and clear enough to see it was actually….._the WABAC!_

Sherman: "Penny…."

Penny: "Sherman…"

Both: "We…. were supposed to come back here"

The WABAC so clearly visible in the photograph that would be taken the next day was all the evidence Sherman needed that his and Penny's trip to the past was meant to be. "Another stable time loop" he said. "But could that mean…"

Suddenly the WABAC started to shake violently while a loud explosion startled both children inside. A second later the alarm went off. "Alarm. Hull damaged. Cloaking disabled".

"They hit us!". Sherman quickly turned to the controls again and was barely able to dodge the next blast, but he could not prevent two Diablo's grabbing hold of the now visible WABAC, and making their way to the door.

"Come on four eyes. Shake them off, before they get in" Penny said, her eyes turned towards the door, which already began to bulge under the pressure from two giant robots trying to push it open.

"That won't work. I have a better plan" Sherman said while he desperately started to program coordinates. He pushed the big red button in front of him and instantly the WABAC disappeared back into the time stream. As the portal closed behind them, everything outside the WABAC suddenly became quiet. Penny carefully put her ear against the door, but she couldn't hear the Diablo's.

"If you're looking for the Diablo's. There they are". Sherman pointed out the window to two Little Diablo dolls floating aimlessly in the time stream, both restored to harmless toys. Penny understood. When they entered the time stream, the Diablo's were cut off from their command signal.

"Just in time, pun intended. I hope they end up on some barbarian's barbeque" Penny said. She sat down next to Sherman again. "So, when are we going to?"

"Home Penny. We need Mr. Peabody. Our Mr. Peabody I mean". He looked her in the eyes, and suddenly she understood what Sherman was steering at.

* * *

The WABAC safely made it back to 2014 and materialized in the penthouse. When Sherman and Penny left the WABAC's 'garage' (by lack of a better name) and went to the living room, they saw Mr. Peabody coming out of the lab. The dog only had to take one brief look at the two children to tell something was up. The look in their eyes alone was already a tell-tale sign.

"Sherman, Penny. What is going on?"

"Mr. Peabody. We were in London to see the Diablo Invasion…."

"Wait a minute… You two took the WABAC? Again?" Peabody said in dismay, though with a slight tone of anger in his voice. He thought Sherman was wiser than that ever since the previous incident. Penny quickly took the photo and the magnification glass out of her backpack and showed them to Peabody.

"Look Mr. Peabody".

Peabody almost tore the photo out of Penny's hands and stared in utter silence at the WABAC, clearly visible in the photograph. Then he looked up. "Did you go back to see me getting honored?"

Sherman shook his head. "No Mr. Peabody. We went back to the day before that, to see you defeat the Diablo's. But they saw us, so we had to flee. And no thunderstorm came, and…"

Peabody raised his paws to silence Sherman. In spite of his anger at his son disobeying him again, he realized Sherman and Penny's tale might actually be important.

"Calm down Sherman. Now, the two of you tell me exactly and patiently what happened today".

Sherman took a deep breath and started talking, with Penny providing additional information here and there. When they were done, Peabody nodded in understanding.

"I understand, and your conclusion is indeed the most logical one Sherman. Now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense. Why didn't I myself see it before? Now come, we have work to do".

Sherman and Penny both sighed in relief. They had half expected Peabody to be angry at them. But if he was, he was hiding it very well. The kids followed Peabody to the lab.

"Well Sherman, Penny. Here it is. The latest model weather machine"

Sherman looked at the small device, hardly larger than a small radio (heck, it even looked like a radio except it had way more buttons).

"Wait, that is a weather machine" Penny said with a tone of sarcasm in her voice.

"Young lady, I'm not going to argue with you now. Perhaps a demonstration will convince you. Now come on, it's about time we give my younger self a little help in his battle."

* * *

The Peabody from 2006 meanwhile had gotten back into the van, which was fortunately spared from any falling rubble, and racing through the chaotic streets of London, luring any Diablo's away from the ExCel. He was driving more on instinct than anything else, since his mind was working out a battle strategy.

"Charlene…. I'm sorry" he thought, but quickly pushed the thought aside. There was a time for mourning, but it wasn't now. Right now, a crisis had to be solved.

"She mentioned a control signal. That makes sense. If I can find the nearest radio tower and modify it to block that signal, I should be able to stop them" Peabody thought.

At the same time the WABAC materialized again high above London, with Sherman at the controls. Peabody (from 2014) was busy working on his weather machine.

"Ehm, Mr. Peabody. Cloaking is damaged. We are completely visible" Sherman said.

"I know Sherman. But in a few seconds nobody on the ground will be able to see us through the thick thunderclouds". He pushed a few more buttons and below the WABAC, the sky suddenly began to fill up with clouds. First small white ones, which within seconds combined into larger, grey clouds, which combined into one large thundercloud.

"Done. Now, we sit back and wait" Peabody said, knowing already how things would play out. He, Penny and Sherman stared down at the Big Ben. Down on the ground, the Peabody from 2006 was startled by the first lightning bolt.

"What the…. Where did that come from so all of a sudden?" he thought. He stopped his van on the Westminster Pier and looked at the sky, which only 2 minutes before had been completely clear. The Diablo's that were still up in the sky were forced to get down to the ground again. Some didn't make it in time and were struck by lightning. One of the smoldering, half molten 'corpses' crashed in front of Peabody's van. Slowly an idea entered his mind. He looked at the destroyed Diablo, the Little Diablo he still had with him, the Big Ben, and the Lightning Battery, still in the back of the van. Along with some other equipment Peabody had brought along.

"Lightning…. A good conductor…. And something to determine the intended target" he said to himself as he worked out the strategy in his mind, but he didn't have to think for long. This was a solution far quicker to realize than his original plan. Peabody started the van and drove at full speed to the Big Ben, dodging several more Diablo's and panicking people along the way. Inside the WABAC, Sherman Penny and Peabody (2014) saw Peabody (2006) park the van next to the Big Ben, grab some tools, and run into the famous clock tower.

"What is he...ehm, I mean… what are you going to do Mr. Peabody?" Sherman asked.

"Wait and see Sherman. First, I had to make some modifications to the Big Ben itself, to make sure I would only hit the Diablo's" Peabody said.

Only 5 minutes later, Peabody already came running out of the Big Ben again, dragging along a power cord. This time he unloaded the Lightning Battery itself from the back of the van. For Penny, it was the first time she actually saw the invention. It looked like an oversized car battery, but with several lightning rods sticking out, a number of dials for measuring among other things the voltage and ampere levels, as well as sockets to plug in devices. Peabody plugged the power cord into one of those sockets and unfolded the antenna's.

"Well, this is it Sherman. Time is up for Drakken's army here in London".

Sherman didn't even realize the pun since he was too focused on the Big Ben. Peabody (from 2006) had to hurry; a group of Diablo's had spotted sooner had Peabody activated the Lightning Battery, or the antenna's began to attract lightning after lightning, quickly charging up the battery. Once it was completely charged up, Peabody flipped a switch. Instantly, the tip of the Big Ben began to emit a series of electric rays. The first two struck the group of Diablo's that were about to stop Peabody. Instantly, the electricity fried the giant robots' circuits and they crashed to the ground, defeated. More rays followed, shooting off in all directions, but for some reason they only struck the Diablo's, nothing else.

"Amazing…. But how can electricity be so specific as to only hit the Diablo's?" Penny asked.

"Oh it's quite simple Penny. Those electric rays are not fired at random. I converted the Big Ben in a giant electric gun, and used the control chip from the defeated Diablo I still had with me to build a targeting system. It automatically targets those chips, and those chips only" Peabody said calmly, as if what he had done was the most ordinary thing in the world.

In mere seconds the electric rays from the Lightning Battery-powered Big Ben struck all Diablo's in and above London. One by one they dropped to the ground, deactivated. From both inside the WABAC and on top of the Big Ben, both Mr. Peabody's grinned at the sight.

"Well. Glad I'm not in their _current_ situation" the 2006-Peabody remarked. Up in the WABAC, Penny, Sherman and the 2014-Peabody heard him.

"Indeed. But I bet they still can't wait to go _ohm_" the 2014-Mr. Peabody added.

Sherman just stared from the Peabody down below to the Peabody next to him and back. "I don't get it".

"I do" Penny said proudly. Sherman merely gave her an annoyed glare.

"Now come on. The fight is over. We have to hide before these clouds dissolve again. Cloaking is still deactivated" Peabody said. "And besides, I have no intention to see what comes next again. We now only have to make sure we are present for this photograph to be taken". He handed Sherman the newspaper clipping and started to program the coordinates. He was looking rather sad again. Like he did in the photograph.

"It's her" Sherman whispered to Penny, who understood who Sherman was talking about. Both carefully walked over to Mr. Peabody.

"Ehm, Mr. Peabody. About the bad thing you said that happened today. Well…. Penny and I saw how this woman, Charlene, got cru… ehm trapped when the Londen ExCel collapsed. So… does this mean…"

Peabody pressed his paw on Sherman's lips. "Yes Sherman. She did not survive. After I defeated the Diablo's I got back to the London ExCel as fast as I could, but I was only in time to hear the medics declare her dead"

He turned his gaze away from his son. "She was a good co-worker, one of the most brilliant modern day women I knew, and an even better friend. Perhaps, deep down, she was even more than that. We already met when I was still with the OWCA, and she had a hand in many of my inventions from 2002 to 2006. Including the whole Lightning Battery project".

"It's okay Mr. Peabody" Sherman said. "You don't have to say more".

The WABAC shot up into the sky and into the time stream, while behind them the artificially created thunderstorm already started to disappear.

* * *

The rest went by fairly quickly. The WABAC briefly dropped out of the time stream on April 30 2006, 11:15 AM, and hovered in the sky above London long enough to be caught on the photograph taken at the ceremony where Peabody received the keys to the city, thus closing the stable time loop. With this important part taken care of, Peabody, Sherman and Penny returned home to November 04 2014.

"Ehm, I think I better go home now" Penny said, still not convinced that Peabody wouldn't give them a lecture about taking the WABAC without his permission now that everything was over. Before Peabody could protest, she had run out of the penthouse. Peabody didn't even try to stop her.

"Typically Penny. As impulsive as ever" he sighed. "Oh well, it's better if her own parents discuss this with her".

"So… am I grounded" Sherman asked.

It took a while for Peabody to answer. "Well, to tell you the truth, I'm still in doubt about that Sherman. You did take the WABAC without my permission, again, and endangered both yourself and Penny by going to such a dangerous time and place. On the other hand, we now know you were meant to go there, and if you had not done so the invasion in London would have ended quite differently, not in the least for myself. Oh, it would have stopped eventually when Kim Possible destroyed the command tower in Middleton, but I would most likely not have survived. You saved my younger self from two of those metal devils, and even if they had not killed me, my original plan of using a radio tower to block their signal would not have worked. The only radio tower in the direct area was heavily guarded by those giant robots, or so I heard."

"So, you're not mad?" Sherman asked hopeful.

"Oh I am Sherman. But not as much as I would have been had this been a completely unnecessary, reckless deed. But you really have to stop giving in to Penny so easily, and I will see to it Mr. and Mrs. Peterson have a word with her about her constantly talking you into doing things I do not approve of. Next time, you may not be so lucky".

Sherman nodded. "Understood Mr. Peabody".

* * *

_Charlene Alberta Wright_

_March 04 1974 - April 29 2006_

Sherman, Mr. Peabody and Penny were at the London Highgate Cemetary, standing near a monument for all victims of the Diablo invasion, staring at Charlene's name among the others. The past few days Peabody had thought it over. Ever since that fateful day he had tried to forget what had happened, but without much luck .And now that he thought about it, it was probably due to that reluctance to think back about April 29 2006 that he never realized before the whole thunderstorm was in fact his own, or rather his future self's, doing. So now he was standing her to try and finally put it all behind him.

"You really loved her didn't you Mr. Peabody" Sherman asked. A rhetorical question, so Peabody didn't even answer. Carefully, he placed a bouquet of flowers at the foot of the monument and spoke some words, but too softly for Sherman and Penny to hear. After a few minutes he turned around and sighed.

"Well, that's it I guess. Let's go home".

None of them spoke during most of the ride home, until Penny dared to ask Peabody if he was feeling alright.

"I think I will be now Penny. I guess I just needed to close this chapter of my life. So, in a way I should thank you and Sherman for helping me realize that"

"It wasn't just our doingl Mr. Peabody. I guess it was just a matter of time before you would find out" Sherman said.

And much to Sherman's delight, Peabody actually laughed at his attempt at a pun.

* * *

**The end**


End file.
